Oxygen Shortage in Second Virus Wave Overwhelms Health Care in Brazil's Manaus

Brazil is currently overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation gets worse in the Amazon region's Manaus where an oxygen shortage overwhelms the medical system.

The Rio Times said in a report that the oxygen shortage in the Amazonas is expected to go on, still to be normalized.

Brazil's Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello said in a January 18 interview that the crisis had been "stabilized" but the oxygen shortage and other issues in medical care say otherwise.

On Thursday, Manaus of Brazil's Amazonas reported more than 2,5000 new infections of the virus and 254 related hospitalizations, Al Jazeera said. It was the highest figure seen by the region since the onset of the pandemic and families are in desperate need for oxygen for their loved ones.

Doctors and nurses also said hospitals were overwhelmed with the care of patients with COVID-19 and suffered from shortages.

Brazil Digging Mass Graves for the Dead

Bloomberg reported that Brazil had to resort to hastily digging mass graves as hospitals were overrun by patients.

In some cases, patients were being flown out to receive treatment for the virus elsewhere. Others who did recover were also reported to become reinfected by the new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 that reached Brazil.

About eight months ago, then-mayor Arthur Virgílio Neto sent a desperate appeal for help to former President Donald Trump and other world leaders, reported NPR.

"We are doing our best, but I tell you, it's still very little in [the] face of the oncoming barbarism," he said in his video message. "We cannot be silent. We need all possible help."

Neto also said that with Manaus's population of over two million, they acted as custodians to the surrounding rainforest. He argued that it was now the outside world's turn to reciprocate and "look after" the people of Manaus.

Now, 75-year-old Neto can only do so much as his term ended and he had to leave office.

He is now, just like others, watching helplessly as the pandemic engulfed his city and brought tragic levels of death.

He said this new wave of the virus was "even worse" from when he first made his plea to world leaders. Manufacturers were only meeting a fracture of the health care system's oxygen demands, among other hurdles the city faces.

Earlier this month, oxygen was completely tapped out in the city and it only has a dangerously low amount of oxygen now.

Some patients were forced to share oxygen supplies and others died in bed from suffocation.

Needless to say, Manaus was facing a health catastrophe.

Most of Residents in Brazil's Manaus Had Detectable Antibodies

According to scientists, there was evidence that at least one new and infectious variant of the coronavirus emerged in the area, which is prompting the surge in infection.

Most of the city's population, at 76%, also had detected antibodies, a study published in Science said in December.

This proportion is almost thrice Sao Paulo, the country's original epicenter for the coronavirus.

This grim milestone for Manaus prompted many patients like Rafael Cesar to air out their concerns on social media.

"Due to a collapse in the medical system in Manaus, my family are being transferred to Sao Paulo. Any donation will help with the treatment and recovery of my family," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Some critics blame the government for its poor handling of the crisis.

The health ministry was allegedly warned about the oxygen shortage nearly a week before it reached critical levels but federal authorities were not informed.